Drawn To The Power
by Megazord Master
Summary: A creature that can't be beaten. A reluctant hero must step up and save the Rangers. TinyWarz Rangers Prequel
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: See it in my previous fics.

A/N: The Dryken story revealed at last! Takes place just after Man Of Mercury.

Drawn to the Power – A TinyWarz Rangers Prequel

Prologue: New Place, Unfamiliar Face

Place Unknown

The creature stirred and groaned. It moved its arms in a clockwise direction – cautiously testing its strength. It sensed great power had been unleashed…and that its Master was gone. It noticed that it was also lying down on a metal slab of some sort. Eyelids opened for the first time in a long time, taking in surroundings both familiar and unfamiliar. The equipment around him looked like it had been used recently – but it found itself grasping at straws at the purpose of it. Swallowing, it raised its reptilian head and looked down – exhaling slowly. Nothing had changed – not that it was expecting anything to change. His Master had given him this form as a just reward – something that pleased him immensely.

It stretched out its neck as best as it could – feeling a sick sense of satisfaction in hearing the bones flex and pop. It was reminded of the battles it had been in previously – battling against the forces that had dared to stand before its Master. With some degree of effort, it rose on its legs and took a tottering step forward, its tail counterbalancing it. It groaned – a hollow, unearthly sound that reverberated off the walls of the cavern – and covered its snout with one scaly hand. It sensed lots of activity had gone on around it – but it doubted that his Master's hospitals would be located inside rocky caves. It tried to remember the last time it had set eyes upon his Master…but it couldn't recall. Its Master had always been elusive – but he had treated it well. Almost as if he was afraid of it.

Its mouth opened, showing many small dagger like teeth. A reddish tongue sat in its mouth – unmoving and cold. The armour that it had always worn felt rough and corroded and the trousers itched in places it didn't want to think about. After the self examination was completed, it took a step forward – yellow and red eyes falling on a familiar sight. To the outside, it looked like an ordinary katana, but it knew it wasn't the case. Carefully inlaid in the hardened steel were powerful magics – designed to cut through Grid Powered armour. It was a Ranger Killer. Its Master knew that there was only one thing in the entire Universe that could stand up to it – but it was thankful that it wasn't near its location. Carefully, the creature reached down – grasping the ornate handle with its left hand. It brought up the blade and grinned as best as it could. Yes, the blade would serve it well.

It paused for a moment – its hybrid brain struggling to process a whirlwind of thoughts. Where was it to go? Its Master had long been destroyed by the Light – as had everyone else it had come to know. Only it was spared – for an unknown purpose. The monster cringed as it thought to that day – where the Light had whispered things in its head, urging it to renounce the Dark Path. With a scream of rage, the creature lashed out with its blade – the enchanted katana ripping through the delicate machinery with ease. As the rage slowly left it, it was aware that it was not alone in the cave. Standing at the entrance was a seemingly humanoid figure. It couldn't see his features – just that it was a male and had an air of calm, peace and righteousness. The beast drew in a panicky breath and raised its blade – ready to fight. To its surprise, the figure didn't seem alarmed or even frightened of this – stepping forward, but still enshrouded in shadows. When he spoke, his voice was oddly familiar to the beast.

"Put down your weapon. I am not here to harm you."

The beast narrowed its eyes at the words, but slowly lowered the katana. The figure nodded in approval and spoke once again. This time – the words caught and held the attention of the beast.

"I come bearing your Master's final orders. He says that you have done well in the past – but he showed remorse at not telling you until now. In the nearby city of San Angeles, there is an artefact that can restore your Master to his former glory. It is the Corona Aurora – the Crown of the Gods. You have heard of it, I'm sure."

Slowly, the creature nodded. The fabled Crown of the Gods had been found – but what of the Jewels? The Crown was useless without the Jewels to empower it. And there was the issue of the Crown having protectors. Protectors like the Power Rangers – but they were powered by the Grid. It would have to learn about them first. It nodded to the being and attempted to speak. When it did speak, its voice was raspy and rough – but deep.

"That I have. And what of it?"

The being laughed – but it sensed that the laughter was not mocking. It was amused and drew the mutant in further.

"The Jewels are in the possession of five gifted humans. They are called the Power Rangers, but they should be no match for you – a creature able to change forms and instill treachery into the hearts of many!"

Finally, its memory was returning to it. It was able to do all of what the figure had said – but it only worked in certain conditions. The changing forms was only useful for an extremely limited time – and the treachery would only be instilled if the being embraced deception as a way of life. It brightened at one simple fact – that it would be able to test its skills against a fully committed team of Rangers. Five humans would not pose a problem – it would learn about all of them…even if that meant ripping the information out of their skulls! Inwardly, it cackled gleefully, eager to try his mind ripper magic for the first time. As it contemplated the figure's words, strength flooded its body – making it start in surprise. It was in full control this time. It was doing this for its Master.

It was ready.

The monster nodded at the figure and walked toward the mouth of the cave. Outside, it could see a shimmering city – the buildings gleaming in the mid-morning sun. It threw a glance over its shoulder and spoke to the figure – noticing for the first time that it had four arms.

"For the Master"

As the thing strode towards the city, Spurex laughed to himself and initiated the time portal. Things were now in motion that would end with his Master being released. He felt a pang of pity for the creature disappearing into the mist – he had told it that it was doing this for its Master, but its Master was gone. He only hoped that everything played out as it was supposed to…

And that Dryken was successful.

TBC…

Chapter One:


	2. Chapter One: Surge of Evil

Chapter One: Surge of Evil

Location: Hartford Mansion, San Andreas

Veronica "Ronny" Robinson sat in front of her bed, thinking about the past week. The Fearcats' emergence, their cyborg-ification (as Dax had put it), having her Powers drained and the arrival of Tyzonne – the new Mercury Ranger. Of course, there had been other note-worthy events as well – the debut of the Sonic Streaker, the recovery of the Toru Diamond and the creation of the massive DriveMax Ultrazord. All those events had culminated into one thing – that Tyzonne was a permanent part of their team. The guys had welcomed him with open arms – with Dax and Mack practically tripping over each other to give the Mercurian the "Grand Tour" of the mansion. Rose had been more excited over the Ultrazord formation – apparently theirs was the first Grid powered Ultrazord to be created since the mid 90's. The Ultra Zords of Sydney's Ultra Rangers didn't count as true Ultrazords – but Ronny had left the conversation before she was in over her head.

That was another enigma – the Ultra Rangers. She knew from her own research that they were extremely powerful Rangers – but for the life of her, she couldn't find out how to contact them. She didn't think they needed any help though – Andrew was supposedly in the process of creating a Zord for Tyzonne and Rose…well, Rose was Rose. She stood up and stretched – before walking out to the living room. Spencer was no where to be found – but she was sure he was bent over one of the twenty seven bathrooms, scrubbing at the floor or cleaning the shower. She was also sure that he was in the same suit he was always in – with no raincoat or plastic on him to keep it from becoming dirty. She didn't know how many suits he had – but she knew better to ask him. The thought of wearing the same thing for hours on end made her a bit squeamish – but Andrew had ensured that they had completely clean uniforms every day. As she entered the room, she could hear the animated voices of Dax and Mack talking about something – and the voices were coming closer. They saw her and nodded – not missing a beat in their conversation. Finally, Ronny had enough.

"What's up with you two now?"

Dax and Mack stopped suddenly and looked at her in freaky unison. Sheepishly, Dax lifted his left hand, revealing a newspaper she hadn't seen. Giving it over to the Yellow Ranger, he nervously fidgeted as she skimmed over the article. Not seeing anything of particular importance, she gave the newspaper back to Dax and cocked an eyebrow. He felt a need to explain what they were doing – part of his Asian upbringing he guessed. He didn't want to look too closely into it. His voice was nervous, yet surprisingly steady.

"Well, we were just talking about the 9 month anniversary of the retirement of the Orange Ranger and – "

Ronny's eyes widened as she heard that. She whirled around – catching the Blue and Red Rangers by surprise – and snatched the newspaper out of Dax's hands. Hands slightly shaking, she re-read the article again – taking in every word. The article was a small blurb wondering if the Orange Ranger was to come out of retirement this month. Of course, it was pure gossip and speculation, but the words hit home. The last active Ultra Ranger had retired – ending the Ultra Ranger legacy. Of course, she knew that wasn't the case – the Orange Ranger had been seen helping out the new teams under the Ultra Ranger banner from time to time. The newest Rangers – the Elemental Rangers would continue the legacy – she was sure of it. She handed the paper back to Dax and turned to Mack – who was trying to switch off the TV. She furrowed her brow at the sight – no matter where they were, Mack could make any electrical appliance switch on instantaneously. She considered telling Andrew about it – but then, Mack did have enhanced powers…maybe it was a side effect or something. She called to him over the steadily rising volume, her voice carrying an amused lilt.

"So, what do you guys think about Tyzonne? Is he a "cool" guy or what?"

"Cool guy? Nah – that's Flurious!"

Mack smacked the side of the TV softly – finally making the device switch off – and smirked at Dax's comment. Of course, Flurious was anything but a cool guy - but he didn't seem to be making any more appearances either. He bit the inside of his cheek to stop the smile growing over his face. It was incredibly obvious how Ronny and Tyzonne were attracted to each other. Once, he thought that Tyzonne might have been attracted to him – but he chalked it up to compassion. Of course – in true fashion – everyone but the two involved were aware of it. He thought Ronny would have made the first move, but it seemed she was planning something else for the Mercurian. Ronny seemed to pick up on what he was thinking and whacked him in the shoulder – just as Tyzonne walked in. In a flash, Ronny's eyes were drawn to the curious, yet sad look on the Mercurian's face and she longed to take it away.

Ronny wasn't a romantic person at heart – but she had her fair share of admirers. She had been caught by the paparazzi multiple times sunbathing on whatever beach she found herself at. She had truckloads of fan mail – ranging from marriage proposals to love letters…even a few XXX rated pictures from 30-year-old male nurses. Those gave her the creeps, but she didn't let it show. But one look at the transformed Tyzonne had brought her into a new world filled with totally clichéd elements such as violins and flowers dropping from the sky. She had let herself be swept away by the tides and was amazed at how fast they were. She briefly wondered what it would be like at night with Tyzonne beside her…but she stopped herself. She wasn't ready to go that far just yet – even with a mysterious alien from Mercuria. Slowly, Tyzonne sat down beside her and smiled. She felt content and happy.

Nothing could change that fact.

Location: Unknown Loaction

The creature stumbled down the slope, shaking its head in pain. It had heard the thoughts of the one that had freed it. It had heard what he had called it. Dryken. Was that his name? He was fairly certain that it was. He was also extremely certain that he was a male – a quick check had reassured him of that particular fact. His mind was ablaze with questions and fuzzy memories where he saw himself staring down on himself…but that didn't make sense – even to his blurry memory. The creature dismissed the thought and the memory – thinking that it would do not good to keep dwelling on something insane.

But then that brought up a whole other group of questions. He knew he had a weapon, strong armour and what would be called "natural defences". He was aware that he had a reptilian snout – which meant sharp teeth. After another examination, he saw that he had sharp claws on the ends of his fingers and toes. He also had a tail studded with spikes – something for Ranger Kebabs. Dryken grinned at that thought – or tried to anyway. He was ready – but something was blocking his full Power. He knew – from vague memories – that he could drain memories and power from beings…but he had no idea how to do it. He finally sighed and shook his head. The only way to find out what everything did was to go out and find the jewels.

The jewels of the Corona Aurora. The crown and the jewels were powerful together – but the jewels on their own were extremely powerful energy sources in their own right. That left him at a massive disadvantage though – he didn't know who else was after the jewels…and he didn't know if any had been found. Dryken growled low in his throat and slammed his fist into a tree trunk – barely blinking as the tree fell down, uprooted. He needed to flush out the Rangers…but how? As if answering him, a phantom voice answered his question.

"Flush them out by destruction"

The mutant blinked. Well, mass destruction would work to his advantage. Depending on the amount of opposition, he could probably draw out all of the factions that were vying for the Crown. He lifted up his blade and pointed it at a nearby grove of trees.

This would be a blast…literally.

Location: Overdrive Command

Andrew Hartford wearily looked up from the schematics he was studying. He was so sure that he had heard a sound – something like an alarm or something, but he dismissed the thought. He looked at the plans again, stifling a yawn as he did so. He wanted the new Zords to have a different abiltily…but he wasn't sure what it was yet. Even coming up with an idea that fit the whole "Overdrive" theme was taxing enough. Lightspeed hadn't sent any ideas worth considering (A garbage truck for a Zord?) and contacting his college roommate George Frizz hadn't helped…much. He smiled at the thought of what his roomie had been proposing. A distinguished Battle Group where hulking robots would scour the outlying systems for "intelligent life"…or to quell rumours of rebellion and bandit groups. Andrew laughed again, Frizz would probably get himself blown up in one of his "Mekas" or go out in some ignoble way like a cancer.

The sound went off again. Louder this time. Andrew shook his head violently and glanced at the satellite view of San Angeles. The alarm sounded like one of his rarely used alarms – something that would have alerted him if the world was ending…or Mack had somehow found out about his true origins. Andrew hoped it wasn't the latter – he could almost see the look on his son's face when he told him…all the disappointment. He also hoped it wasn't the former either – but they still had about two more jewels to find…and somehow get the crown back from Moltor. He slowly stood up and arched his back – wincing at the symphony his back made – before walking to the screen and taking a closer look.

What he saw banished all thoughts of sleep from his mind.


	3. Chapter Two: Shock Tactics?

Disclaimer: Usual stuff. PR isn't mine, but the two characters in the base somewhere are…and so is Dryken and all the destruction he causes.

Drawn to the Power

Chapter Two: Shock Tactics?

Location: Hartford Mansion – Overdrive Command Chamber

Andrew Hartford was rarely frightened by much. The treacherous journey to retrieve the Crown hadn't phased him the slightest and when he was Moltor's prisoner…well, he knew everything would be all right. But nothing could stop the icy fist of fear from spreading through his body. The creature on the screen was a blur of rampant destruction. Energy blasts were shooting out of its katana – throwing up fiery explosions around it. Civilians who were scrambling out of the way weren't spared – their bodies being thrown around by various shockwaves or being brutally cut down by the monster's claws. He blinked hard and slammed his fist down on the general alert button – bringing his Rangers running. His eyes stared, unblinking. He heard the Rangers come running and their gasps of shock at the destruction. Turning, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Rangers. This creature just appeared on the scanners a few minutes ago. It's fast and deadly. It's…it has killed civilians."

The Rangers were shocked. Almost all of the monsters that had been sent down previously avoided outright killing of innocent people. Even the robots piloted by Flurious and Moltor had avoided trampling crowded streets – then again, they had attacked during a long weekend so there weren't many people to worry about. Mack was almost about to protest when the next image on the screen shut him up. The creature was staring curiously at the charred corpse of some poor soul…before bending down and burying its fangs into the body's chest. Ronny grimaced at the sight – while Mack tried to keep down his breakfast. Finally, Tyzonne drew in a breath and spoke.

"We need to get going out there. I haven't been with you for long – but we owe it to the public to show up and destroy whatever that thing is."

Dax nodded, the happy-go-lucky teen somber-faced. He knew that they had to go out – even if the monster couldn't be stopped. Whatever it took, they would stop it. Mack nodded once to himself and unhooked his Overdrive tracker from his left shoulder. He inhaled deeply and said a silent prayer that they would be safe.

"OVERDRIVE, ACCELERATE!"

Location: Unknown Location

He walked towards the scanners – they had gone crazy earlier. He ran his fingers over the keys – pinpointing the exact location of the disturbance. San Angeles – a small town between Ocean's Bluff and Angel Grove. Apparently it had its own team of Rangers and they had recently acquired a sixth member…as well as a stack of enemies. He opened their profiles and scanned their faces. The only ones that stood out to his were the Yellow and Red Rangers. Red due to the inner strength his eyes conveyed and Yellow due to…well, if he was entirely honest with himself it was because she was hot. He heard the door behind him slide open and heard the soft voice of his ex-girlfriend.

"What's up? Skull face hasn't made a move against us yet – not since last time. Are those the worldwide scanners?"

He nodded, his eyes flicking to the screen showing the Western shore of America. She glanced at the screen herself, her eyes widening slightly. She swallowed and then looked at the shadowed face – voice low.

"That reading is massive."

He nodded, strangely silent and thinking deeply. She looked over to him sharply.

"You're not thinking of…that, right?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair – internally debating with himself. Finally, he closed his eyes and exhaled, voice calm bit holding a tinge of finality.

"I'll keep monitoring it. The cams should be zooming on the critter. If things get hairy, I'll 'port there myself."

She nodded once before walking out, the door sliding shut behind her.

TBC…it'll get better.


	4. Chapter Three: Decimation

Drawn To The Power

Drawn To The Power

Chapter Three: Decimation

Location: Downtown San Angeles

"Stop there!"

Dryken turned around lazily to see six figures in multicoloured spandex running towards him. He snorted and waited for them to stop – casting a critical eye over them. The Black and Blue ones looked like they would be the easiest ones to beat, followed by the two females. The one in the metallic silver seemed to be the one most likely to give him a small amount of trouble…and the Red one would be the one that would have to fall first. No doubt about that – if he saw him team being beaten, he would go into a crazed attack. Dryken didn't know how he knew all of this – he just did. He laughed loudly, the raspy sound making all who were still conscious shudder in fear. His voice was healing, but he guessed that it wouldn't be what it had been for some time.

"You are the Rangers? I expected more. I wanted strength – not mere children!"

Mack blinked underneath his helmet. Now that they were up close, he could see the creature for what it really was. The description "crocodile samurai" didn't do the creature justice, the beast was much more than a mindless mutant. It stood on two heavily armoured legs, which ended in large clawed feet. Its armour was tri-colour – predominantly green with streaks of white and red and its katana had a black and gold hilt. The skin on its arms was stretched taunt over thickly bunched muscles and its expression looked extremely hostile with a very slight trace of…confusion? Mack didn't understand it – why would the beast be confused? Moltor, Flurious or Kamdor had obviously summoned it from the Nether plains to attack them. Sure, it looked stronger and had killed civilians, but it wasn't uncommon for monster generals to be sighted from time to time. Of course, monster generals never killed anyone outright…

He swallowed hard and steeled himself for the inevitable assault. When it didn't happen, he relaxed his stance slightly. If nothing was forthcoming, there would be a dramatic monologue by the new monster – and standing tense for a long time could really hurt. He could also see the others relaxing slightly – so they were completely unprepared when the monster hurtled towards them fangs and claws bared. Pain blasted through his body as said claws raked the surface of his uniform – producing a shower of sparks. Staggering to his feet, he looked at the creature and snarled.

"Whoever you are, you're going down!"

The monster laughed – throwing its crocodilian head back to expose rows and rows of dagger-like teeth. The sound was harsh and grating. Finally finishing its laugh, the reptile looked at the Rangers with malice.

"Puny children – none of you are strong enough for Dryken! You all will be destroyed easily!"

Mack had heard enough. He took in a deep breath and pointed at the creature – preparing to throw out a heroic statement. That was foiled when the creature – Dryken – raced towards him. He barely had time to pull out his Drive Defender before it was knocked out of his hands as the blade struck him. He slammed into the ground hard – his breath knocked out of him. Tyzonne was the next to react, his Drive Detector parrying drunkenly against the calmly executed strikes of Dryken's katana. Ducking under a swing, the Mercurian attempted to sweep the beast's legs but was rewarded by a powerful kick – which sent the Mercury Ranger flying into a tree. Swallowing hard, Will silently called for his Hovertek Cycle and attempted to ram the creature.

Dryken saw the flying bike heading his way and lifted up his katana. Murmuring words he didn't understand in a language that was long dead, green energy bolts shot out of the tip. They slammed into the Hovertek cycle's wheels and rotors – causing a series of explosions to engulf both the rider and the bike. He watched as the Ranger fell to the ground – demorphing in a dark purple flash. It was obvious none of the apparent defenders had any real grasp of strategy – but they were tenacious. He smirked and attempted to run his tongue over his teeth but accidentally sliced off the tip when he was struck from behind. He whirled around and roared – blood flying from his tongue. He paused, noting the Blue, Pink and Yellow Rangers in front of him and then nodded one. He lifted his katana – noting that the three of them flinched subtly – and placed it on his belt, where it was encased in energy. He spoke in a dry growl that was tinged with pain.

"Humans, worthless beings that know nothing of my power. I am Dryken – the Draconic warrior…and I will destroy you from the inside out. But first…who's next?"

The three looked at each other uncertainly, before charging at him – their weapons raised. Dryken shrugged, rolled his eyes and lifted his arms in readiness. He didn't have to wait long – Dax was the first to reach him and attempted a punch. Dryken punched back, the impact causing the Blue Ranger to demorph mid-flight. Dax stood shakily and attempted a combo of jump kicks – all of which were easily deflected. He attempted another kick – only for his leg to be caught between Dryken's jaws. He screamed at the pain – something that was further heightened by Dryken tossing the Blue Ranger towards his remaining teammates. The three of them dropped in one pile – Rose and Ronny pinned by Dax's bleeding form – unable to get up. The Rangers demorphed in a shower of sparks – their internal dampeners shorted out. The creature inhaled and snickered.

"Rangers…how easily they all fall. Of course, I know how fast they go down…ah, those were the days."

Dryken paused. He knew that he had defeated the Rangers. He knew he had another trick to do…but he didn't know how it worked. He shrugged again and sighed. He wished that Spurex had left him with a manual telling him what to do – but that would probably be too easy. He shut his eyes and relaxed, hoping that the answer of how to activate his memory ripper would come. Suddenly, his mind was overwhelmed by images of people he had never met, conversations that he never had and a gut-wrenching tightness in his stomach. Tentatively, he opened his eyes and surveyed the battlefield. The Rangers were holding their heads and screaming with pain – and if he squinted slightly, he could see ripples of…something leading from their heads to his. He shrugged for what seemed like the umpteenth time and sighed. He turned to walk away – noting that the "ripples" broke off as soon as he moved – but turned around to talk to the broken heroes once more.

"I'm disappointed. I expected much more from you than a bunch of weak willed humans. Give up now."

Location: Unknown Location

The shadowed figure stared at the screen in shock. The new monster on the block had torn through the Rangers with ease and was leaving them. They all looked to be in a bad way – and the Blue Ranger was bleeding from a horrific rip in his lower leg. The door slid open silently and footsteps came closer.

"You off then?"

"I won't reveal myself right now. I'll get them to safety. Where are they based?"

The second figure turned to a stack of notes and shuffled through them. Finding the answer, the figure spoke.

"Some mansion on the outskirts of San Angeles. You prepared?"

Turning, the shadowed figure stretched and nodded before sliding on an orange necklace. Touching two fingers to the head in salute, the figure spoke before vanishing in a streak of fire.

"I'll have to be"


End file.
